


broadway here i come

by intertwiningwords



Category: Dead Poets Society (1989)
Genre: AU, Actor!Neil, Alternate Meeting, Broadway, M/M, Playwright!Todd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-01-11 00:35:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12311145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intertwiningwords/pseuds/intertwiningwords
Summary: todd anderson is an aspiring playwright. neil perry is a broadway actor. they meet at a stagedoor for one of neil's plays and instantly feel a connection.





	1. one.

**Author's Note:**

> i had this really cute idea of a fan meeting an actor at a stagedoor, and despite meeting somebody they really love/admire, they manage to keep their cool, but the actor gets incredibly flustered by how adorable this fan is. thus, this fic was born. i started writing it a really long time ago, and just picked it back up.  
> anyway, enough rambling: hope you enjoy! x

Todd Anderson was what you could call a starving artist. Renting a tiny apartment in New York City, working part-time as a barista in a Starbucks, and spending the rest of his time writing until his fingers ached from typing and his brain hurt from thinking. Hundreds of unfinished scripts sat in leather journals scrawled in colorful pens, and in files on his Google Docs with bold, italics, underlining, colored highlighting, and comments written all over, because they were  _ never good enough _ .

He moved to New York to go to college. His parents wouldn’t miss him too terribly; it wasn’t like they paid him much attention when he was home.

They sent him cards for holidays, called every couple weeks to check in, say hi. Sometimes they’d transfer some cash into his bank account.

He had started writing very young, his teachers automatically noticing his “gift” as they called it. It quickly became a passion of his, one of the few things that seemed to stir him up in any way.

He studied English at college, living off Ramen and coffee and reading Shakespeare til his eyes and mind begged for sleep.

And the degree got him nowhere, so, it was apparently all for fucking nothing.

His life was alright though. He had a cat, a ginger short-hair with big green eyes named Ophelia. He didn’t really have friends, but he preferred it that way.

He got lonely sometimes though.

 

***

 

Neil Perry was the opposite; an artist, yes, but not quite starving. He was living his dream, acting in plays on and off-Broadway, living in an apartment with his best friend and current co-star Charlie, and, not to brag, being surrounded by people wanting pictures and autographs.

He’d loved the spotlight since he was old enough to walk and talk, and, much the the dismay of his parents, chose acting as his career path, moving to New York City with barely any money and a dream.

Then he met Charlie, another aspiring actor, and they found a shitty shoebox apartment together. They’d been close as twins ever since.

Yes, he was living his dream. Living in the Big Apple, starring in a show on Broadway, living with his best friend. But something was missing. He couldn’t quite place what it was.

Maybe he was lonely. He had friends, sure, but he craved something more. Real affection, intimacy, love.

He watched Charlie go through boyfriends and girlfriends pretty often, going on Tinder dates, flirting with every moving thing.

He didn’t want to just throw himself out into the world, join a dating website, date around. He wanted to find the right person.

Call him old-fashioned or cliche or a damn right fool, he didn’t care. He just wanted to find the one. And he had been severely unlucky so far.

 

***

 

Todd was one of those people, or, wanted to be at least. He didn’t have the income to afford Broadway tickets, and it was harder than it seemed to just run into actors on the street.

Eventually though, tips at his job increased and Neil Perry was starring in a play that offered lottery tickets for just thirty dollars, which was cheap compared to the usual sixty or more needed to see a show. So, he took his chances and entered it every night he could, always receiving an email that said “better luck next time!”.

One Saturday night, he entered. What was there to lose? It wasn’t like he had plans anyway. And hours later, the email wasn’t wishing him luck for next time. He’d actually won, and he admittedly jumped around his apartment in a sort of victory dance because of it. He spent an embarrassing amount of time picking an outfit, finally settling on a blue sweater over a white collared shirt and black jeans. Not too fancy, but presentable.

He arrived at the theatre and claimed his ticket, paying the thirty dollars that could have gone to groceries or some nice, warm clothes for the chilly weather approaching already in mid-October or maybe to pay his rent.

It was worth it.

The seats weren’t great, but as long as he could see the stage he was satisfied. This was a rare opportunity for him, to experience the form of art he loved so much and wanted to be a part of. When the lights went down, he was grinning. He was so grateful whatever force of the universe had let him win.

 

***

 

Neil Perry lived for the moment of walking out on stage at his entrance, seeing all the full seats and excited faces out in the audience, hearing the wolf-whistles and shouts and applause. He’d wanted to act since he was young, probably since he was as young as five, and it had taken him years of convincing his parents and practicing lines in the mirror to get where he was. And he was so grateful for it.

 

***

 

About two hours later, Todd was on his feet, clapping, as Neil came out with his fellow actors and actresses, bowed, and smiled out at the audience.

Was stage-dooring a real thing? Was it cool? Did Neil Perry even come out to the stage door? Was Todd really going to stand out in the cold just for the chance to get Neil Perry’s autograph?

You bet your ass he was.

His hands shook as he held his Playbill out to various members of the cast, including a blond man named Charlie who winked at him when he handed the program back, making Todd’s cheeks flush a brighter red than the wind had already turned them.

After twenty minutes of being squished between giggling girls, he was ready to just leave. Neil Perry was probably too famous for the stage door, he probably didn’t come out, or with Todd’s luck, this was the one night he wouldn’t.

But the second that thought entered his head, screaming erupted around him and scared the absolute shit out of him, but as he peered out over the sea of heads, he saw him. Tall, messy brown hair and bright brown eyes, freckles and a dimple pressing into his cheek as he grinned at the people surrounding him.

Todd refused to admit he felt a little weak at the knees. He wasn’t one to fangirl over people, but Neil Perry wasn’t like normal people. He was gorgeous, and talented, and he was a fucking delight, because every person who asked for a picture got one, every Playbill got signed, every conversation was had. He was humble, and sweet, as if he couldn’t get any better.

Now, Todd was socially awkward at the best of times, so he was terrified of what would leave his mouth in the presence of this angel walking the earth. Surprisingly, though, he managed to be a coherent, functioning member of society.

“Hello!” Neil said, taking the program from his shaking hands, still as enthusiastic at the end of the line as the front, “Did you enjoy the show?”

“It was amazing,” Todd replied, a little breathless, but otherwise managing to not sound like a complete fool.

Neil looked up and their eyes met, and the Playbill was pressed back into his hand, their fingers brushing.

 

***

 

Neil was not one to get flustered easily. He loved being the center of attention, and he was used to being flirted with. But when he met wide blue eyes, he felt heat rising in his cheeks. The guy on the other side of the flimsy barrier they put up was beautiful. He had blond hair and a shy half-smile, and he looked freezing with red cheeks and a far too thin sweater. Neil wanted to wrap his scarf around his neck, but that would probably be really weird of him. So instead he sucked in a breath, and tried to pull himself together.

“I-I’m glad!” he said, “What’s your name?”

“Todd.”

“Todd,” Neil repeated, letting the syllable roll off his tongue as a smile curled on his lips. “You look familiar, do you work around here, or..?” It was a lie, but anything to get to know him better.

“Yeah, at Starbucks. On 54th,” Todd replied, smiling back.

“Oh, that’s so cool!” Yeah, because being a barista was so cool. Idiot.

Todd chuckled, unsure of how to respond to that. “Uh...You were really so amazing, thank you so much,” he said, sensing that the people around him were getting annoyed with how long Neil seemed to be taking to talk to him.

“Thank you, have a...have a nice night, Todd,” Neil said, waving. He really was an idiot. Have a nice night? He continued down the last few people, taking pictures and signing Playbills, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the boy with blond hair and the blue sweater who worked on 54th.

As he started walking to his apartment, he made a note in his phone that simply read, “Todd cute boy barista on 54th”. He figured he’d know what he meant when he read it again in the morning.

By the time he returned to his apartment, Charlie had already fallen asleep, so he had no friend to gossip with about the boy, so he decided to go to sleep too, already knowing where he would be going to get coffee tomorrow.

 

***

  
Todd fell asleep almost immediately upon getting home too, curled up with his pillow and smiling to himself. He’d actually met  _ Neil fucking Perry.  _ One day, he’d write a play, and Neil Perry could star in it. Yes, one day. That thought was enough to bring him sweet dreams.


	2. two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i haven't updated in a while, i was at disney! hope you enjoy x

Todd could not stand working in the mornings. All the grumpy businessmen would storm in and demand their shots of espresso and never tip. He hated his job, but hey, it kept the lights on and the water running.

But this particular Friday morning was worse than usual, the rush of people in suits and dresses and heels with briefcases seemed never-ending. Todd was going to go crazy if he had to make one more Pumpkin Spice Latte, and there was a pitiful pile of change sitting in the tips jar even after a few hours of work.

Todd was just about to take a lunch break (aka hide in the back and avoid all human contact for thirty minutes) when a familiar face came through the door.

Todd felt a smile twitching on his face, but it was quickly replaced by a scowl as a rude customer demanded his brownie be heated longer. As the line moved, the familiar face came closer, looking up and shooting him a grin from time to time.

When Neil got up to the counter, Todd felt his cheek flush instinctively. “Hi,” he said, at a loss for what else to say, forgetting all his professional manners.

“Hi,” Neil replied. “I, uh...Knew you looked familiar,” he chuckled awkwardly, and Todd giggled right back. Fuck, he was cute.

“What can I get you?” He knew Neil didn’t actually recognize him from work; he would know for sure if Neil Perry had ever been to his job. He must have been confusing Todd with someone else.

Oh, right. He was there to actually order coffee. “Uh, black medium iced coffee. Please.”

Todd scribbled across the cup and placed it in the assembly line of identical looking cups.

Neil was handing his money over, but Todd smiled. “It’s on me.”

“No way,” Neil replied, holding out the money more forcefully.

But Todd was looking at him with such determination, he sighed, and shoved his ten dollar bill into the tip jar, looking back at him with the same fire in his eyes.

Todd was still smiling.

They stood there for another moment, simply staring at one another until Neil heard the woman behind him in line clear her throat, clearly impatient.

“Sorry, I’ll stop holding up your line,” Neil said with a nervous, apologetic laugh.

“That’s probably for the best, as much as I wish it weren’t,” Todd replied.

And with that, Neil gave him a grin before striding over to the other side of the counter, stealing glances as Todd took orders from much ruder people.

His name was called after a minute or two, and he took his cup, taking one last look at Todd before heading for the door. Damn, he makes good coffee, Neil thought as he took a sip. Exactly how he liked it.

Then, he looked down at the cup, and felt his cheeks going pink, but not from the chill of the October air.

A phone number was scribbled across the cup, signed off with Todd’s initials underneath it. He quickly entered it into his phone, but chose not to message him immediately. He had a busy day ahead of him and a show that night, and didn’t want to be distracted by his phone.

But he would text him later, definitely. The minute he got off stage. Or right after he screamed to Charlie about the cute barista boy. Yeah, after that, probably.

 

***

 

Todd was seriously freaking out. What the fuck was wrong with him? Why did he think that was a good idea? Neil was going to think he was a total freak and never come back to his job ever again and holy shit he ruined everything-

His phone dinged. Hope filled his chest as much as he told himself to not get his hopes up. He took a deep breath. Just check the notification, Todd. Just check it. It’s probably just your mom asking if you’ve remembered to eat or one of those pointless Twitter notifications that someone you follow liked someone else’s tweet.

He picked up his phone in slightly shaky hands, though that wasn’t necessarily because of nerves. His hands always shook.

A message from an unknown number.

 

_ that was pretty cute you know, leaving your number on my cup. do my eyes deceive me, or are you flirting, todd? - neil _

 

Todd’s breath caught in his throat, blush flooding his cheeks. Think of a witty reply, think of a witty reply. Oh, should he wait a moment so he didn’t seem like he’d been waiting for the text all damn day? No, Neil might worry he’s texted the wrong number or something. Why was he acting like a teenage girl in a shitty teenage movie? Stop being a freak and just text him back for fuck’s sake!

 

_ cute, huh? i was hoping for something like “smooth” but i’ll take it. and it depends; do you want me to be flirting? _

 

Damn, who knew he had a flirty side. His phone lit up again within seconds.

 

_ i guess it was kinda smooth. _

_ and maybe i do. _

 

Todd was grinning now. It was silly, like kids in middle school trying to admit their crushes.

 

_ if i’m flirting, then you’re playing hard to get. _

 

They went back and forth like that until it got too late and they wished each other goodnight. Todd was surprised by how sweet and down-to-earth Neil was, and how much the two of them seemed to have in common. They both loved Shakespeare and coffee and the cold weather. They joked around and teased each other playfully. And it made Todd so, so happy. He hadn't made a friend since he moved to the city. He was civil with people from work and the girl who lived in the apartment beside him, but otherwise, he felt invisible. Neil made him feel visible. He didn’t want it to end, but his eyes were heavy and tired and he eventually dozed off with the phone beside him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading, feedback is always appreciated!  
> tumblr: intertwiningwords.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> that's chapter one finished! i will try to update soon, but no promises...i hope you enjoyed!  
> feedback is always appreciated  
> follow my tumblr: intertwiningwords.tumblr.com


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